Thank you for making time for Dr. Michael Youssef and leading the way.

If you are going through some painful time today, I want you to remember this.

There would be no resurrection without the crucifixion.

There can be no testimony without a test.

There would be no Pentecost without plenty cost.

So the first thing of being fruitful, stick to Jesus.

The second, accept pruning for greater fruitfulness.

In a moment, Dr. Youssef continues this thought-provoking series called The Exclusivity of Jesus.

And in this episode, he'll emphasize God's role as a gardener, one who sometimes needs to bring painful pruning into his children's lives so that they can produce more fruit for his glory. You'll quickly understand that

bearing fruit comes from obedience and abiding in the Lord, and of course, yes, the occasional

pruning. Now before Dr. Youssef begins, a quick reminder that leading the way is listener

supported. Worldwide ministry is made possible

through your prayers and your generosity. So connect further with leading the way when you call

866-6-6-26-4356. Or visit the ministry website, L-TW.org. But do that a little later. Here now is Dr. Michael

Youssef and his series The Exclusivity of Jesus. Some of you have read the book, The Tale of Two Cities.

Some of you heard of it.

And today I want to talk to you about the tale of two trees.

One of those trees grows in the Middle East.

The other grows in the tropics.

The tree that grows in the Middle East looks like, you notice as it looks like an olive

tree, looks like an olive tree, but it is not. It takes the same space as an olive tree.

It absorbs the same amount of sunlight as an olive tree. It uses the same amount of sunlight as an olive tree. It uses the same nutrients in the

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